Rob Kelly Illustration

Callaway Golf Clubs Storyboards

2012-01-30T00:03:00.000-05:00

This was a series of storyboard panels I did for Callaway Golf Clubs, via the Concept Farm agency.

I don't get the chance to do storyboards very much (the last time I did them was back in 2010, for Estee Lauder), so I really sank my teeth into this job--I love doing storyboards, figuring out how to pace and frame the "story" as effectively as possible.

These boards are for a thirty-second spot, where a bunch of golfers are shocked to see a Big Time Golf Pro walk by, who shows them some new Callaway-brand clubs. The guys ooh and ah, with the spot ending with all of them using the clubs and having lots of fun.

When I do storyboards, I use a sort of hybrid of my standard illustrating style mixed with freehand penciling; they're not necessarily all that pretty to look at but they tell the story, and that's ultimately the most important thing.

Both Callaway and Concept Farm were happy with the panels, as was I--I had a lot of fun. I hope it won't be another year and a half before someone asks me to do a job like this again!

The Girl With The Dragon Jacket

2012-01-25T00:03:00.000-05:00

This is just me fooling around with a fashion-y, brightly colored-type thing.

Waking Up With The Lord/Brown Bag Logos

2012-01-23T00:03:00.000-05:00

These are two logos I was commissioned to create from my friend, the Reverend Mac Schafer. Mac hosts several different community groups dealing with faith-based topics and whatever else is on people's minds. He had ideas of what he wanted, and then asked me to put them together.

I don't get to do this kind of work much, but I really enjoy it. They require a bit more finesse and clarity than my portraits, so it was a nice change of pace!

The Skull Awaits

2012-01-16T00:03:00.000-05:00

I have absolutely no idea the hows or whys of this image, it simply popped into my head one day and so I got it down as best I could. I knew I wanted a spooky guy sitting in the dark, with the outline (inline?) of a skull superimposed over him. So that's what I did.

I also have no idea what "The Skull Awaits" is--a book, a movie? Your guess is as good as mine!

Saul Bass' F For Fake

2012-01-09T00:03:00.000-05:00

For better or for worse, I'm still in my Saul Bass phase, and Orson Welles' F For Fake--which is all about trickery and deception--seemed an appropriate subject for this approach. After all, that looks like Orson Welles, but maybe it isn't? And the poster tells us he's in it, but then it says he's not...what's going on here?

Vincent Price

2012-01-03T07:46:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I just like to doodle...

Saul Bass' Charley Varrick

2012-01-02T00:03:00.000-05:00

I meant to get around this Saul Bass-inspired poster for one of my favorite underrated films, Charley Varrick, but the holidays ate up so much of my time I didn't get to until the first of the new year.

I'm not totally in love with how I executed my final idea, but that's how it goes sometimes. I am totally in love with the overall concept--two men standing by a bag full of money. The blood dripping from it signifies the heap of trouble they find themselves in when they realize they've stolen mob money.

If you've never seen Charley Varrick, I recommend you do so. Its a tough, gritty crime thriller, with a great central performance by Walter Matthau, who could hardly do no wrong in the 1970s.

Saul Bass' Strait Jacket

2011-12-19T00:03:00.000-05:00

I have no idea how or why I got the idea to a Saul Bass-inspired poster for the Joan Crawford/William Castle B-horror movie Strait Jacket, of all things--but I did, so here it is!

The original image that popped into my head was an all-white poster with criss-crossed black lines to suggest the tied-up sleeves. But since no one actually wears a strait-jacket in the movie, a giant axe seemed more of a "grabber", so I went with that. The lines came in back in at the end, suggesting even more that things are seriously off-kilter.

Monster PSA: Ornella Muti

2011-12-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

As soon as I saw that Netflix Watch Instantly added Flash Gordon to its list of streaming movies, I added it to my queue and hit Play. As a kid, I was totally smitten with Ornella Muti as Ming's daughter, one in a long line of babes from genre movies I saw as a kid that interested me for reasons I couldn't at the time quite comprehend.

So what advice would Ms. Muti give? Well, considering how much trouble she got everyone into by falling in love Flash...

Saul Bass' Before Sunrise

2011-12-12T00:03:00.000-05:00

There's a new book out about the work of Saul Bass, one of my all-time favorite movie poster designers, so I got inspired to do my own Bass-esque movie posters. Hardly an original idea, but it really seemed like fun and I wanted to try it!

My first idea was to do a Saul Bass take on Before Sunrise, my all-time favorite movie. While the end result didn't come out quite the way I hoped, I had a lot of fun doing this and I think I want to try some more of these...

Mr. Scratch

2011-12-05T00:03:00.001-05:00

Mea culpa: I was so busy with Ace Kilroy, getting a few weeks ahead on my Movie Monday column on my writing blog, working on The Aquaman Shrine, and finishing up an illustration job that it didn't dawn on me until around dinnertime Sunday that I didn't have anything new prepared for today!

I was ready to just skip the whole thing, since I really wasn't inspired to come up with anything. But it bothered me that I haven't missed a week on this blog for over a year and didn't want to start now, so the professional in me kicked in and I whipped up this faux-vintage paperback book cover. Certainly no masterpiece; but sometimes you just have to show up.

Paranoia.

2011-11-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

I probably need to stop calling these covers I do faux-vintage paperback book covers because there's nothing about Paranoia. that seems vintage to me, in any form.

I've been wanting to get away from the same tropes I tend to use, looking for something more hand-drawn, more loose, more gritty. This cover is only a few steps in that direction, but I like how it came out and want to try more like this.

I don't know why I added the period at the end of the title; it just looked right to me.

The Village Voice - 11/16/11

2011-11-21T00:03:00.000-05:00

I was asked to do the above portrait of NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly (no relation) for the cover to the 11/16/11 edition of The Village Voice.

The VV showed me the rough layout they had in mind for the cover; a Russian Constructvist-type thing, and I immediately knew what they were going after, since I'm a big fan of that style. The portrait went through a couple of stages, and as it developed it got looser and rougher, to better convey that DIY feel.

I'm happy to see a piece of mine on a cover like this; I think its beautifully composed and really gets the message across. This is my first piece for The Village Voice, I hope its not my last!

Lilian Bond

2011-11-14T00:03:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy the past couple of weeks I haven't had time to think about more complex pieces, but I always want to be working on something, so I whipped up this simple portrait of actress Lilian Bond, whom I'm most familiar with from James Whale's The Old Dark House.

I used to do tons of these straightforward portraits back in the early years, when I was first developing this style, so it was kinda nice to go back to that time with this.

Live @ The Steve Allen Theater

2011-11-09T00:03:00.000-05:00

My pal, actor, and all-around good egg Damian Maffei asked me to put together this flyer for the show he's appearing in on Saturday, 11/12: a staged reading of two plays, By Bizarre Hands and Suckerfish.

Even though the deadline was very tight (Damian told me about it on Friday, and the flyer needed to be done on Monday), I had the time of my life putting this together. I love doing pure graphic design pieces like this, where putting all the elements into a pleasing, attractive layout is like working on a puzzle--a really, really fun puzzle.

It only took a couple of hours to put it together, and after some minor tweaks here and there, the final version was ready to go by late Saturday. Damian showed it off on his FB page, and all the participants seemed to be happy. I told Damian that I'd volunteer to do any and all flyers like this in the future, absurdly-tight deadline or no!

San Diego Union Tribune Night & Day Cover

2011-11-08T00:03:00.000-05:00

This is the cover to the October 27 edition of Night & Day, the free entertainment magazine that's part of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.

This is the second cover I've done for Night & Day, and it was a challenge, to say the least! I submitted a couple of different cover concepts for their "2011 Super Dining Guide" and I did this one last, figuring (hoping?) they wouldn't go for it, because it was so complex and the deadline was very tight. Guess what happened?

Anyway, in between trips to NYC to attend the 2011 NY Comic Con, I worked on this cover panel by panel. I did the easy ones first, to feel like I was on a roll, and then moved onto the more complicated ones.

I was aided immeasurably by my pal and master cosplayer Roxanna Meta, who I figured would have at least some good shots of her and her friends in superhero costumes that I could use as reference. I was right, and that's her at the bottom right, peering out from behind a giant menu. I used a shot of a friend of hers dressed as The Flash, but then reworked it so the anonymous speedster is carrying some yummy take-out.

It was a lot of work, but I'm proud of the final result and that I could stay focused enough to get it all done in time. I enjoy doing these Night & Day covers, I hope there's more in my future.

(BTW, click the graphic to see a larger version)

She, Robot

2011-11-07T00:03:00.000-05:00

I took a couple of weeks off from my faux-paperback book covers but they're never gone for long; this one is an icky hybrid of sci-fi and sex book that I'd probably read if it existed.

The Real Ace Kilroy?

2011-11-01T00:03:00.000-04:00

Being the writer, not the artist, on a creative project is new for me, and I have to say so far I've been enjoying it. But of course that didn't stop me from doing my own portrait of our creation, Ace Kilroy.

My co-creator Dan O'Connor initially used actor Clint Walker as the model for Ace. Over time Dan's talent took over and he made Ace into his own person, but I went back to Clint as the model for my portrait, which wasn't meant to be anything more than a messy little doodle.

Go read Ace Kilroy!

Welcome to the World of Ace Kilroy!

2011-10-31T00:03:00.001-04:00

In lieu of a new illustration this Monday, I'm highlighting a long-gestating project that goes live today: Ace Kilroy!

Ace Kilroy is the creation of artist Dan O'Connor and me; its a brand-new online daily comic strip launching today over on AceKilroy.com!

Ace Kilroy is a project Dan and I have been working on for over a year. He and I attended the Joe Kubert School together, and from the beginning I was impressed by the quality of his work: Dan had a crisp, simple style, dynamic but not flashy--perfect for comic books, and I resented the hell out of him for it!

Anyway, over the intervening decades(!), Dan and I lost touch, and then we ran into one another again virtually on Facebook and then in something called Real Life at the 2009 New York Comic Con. Dan was telling me some horror stories (stories I was all too familiar with in my own life as an artist) about doing comic book work, and I was simultaneously angry and bewildered that a guy this talented has had to deal with some at times shady comic book publishers. Little did I realize, but Ace Kilroy was born on the ride home from the con.

Within a couple of months, I had formulated a basic concept of the strip, what it would be, what kind of tone I was aiming for, and I knew Dan would be the perfect artist to bring it to life: he and I are both aficionados of 30s and 40s culture (Americana specifically), and since Ace Kilroy starts off in 1937 and would steeped in that world, I knew Dan could really sink his artistic teeth into it.

Luckily, he agreed, and within a few weeks we were already working on the strips, having a blast, but with no clear date set when it would officially launch. Since the strip has a prevalent horror theme, I thought October 31--Halloween--would be perfect.

The short of Ace Kilroy is: In 1937, the United States has learned two disturbing facts. One, that supernatural monsters--i.e., vampires, werewolves--are real. Two, the Third Reich, in preparing to start World War II, are trying to take control of these monsters and turn them to the side of the Nazis, making them unstoppable.

President Franklin Roosevelt commissions soldier of fortune, WW I veteran and all-around adventurer Ace Kilroy to head to Transylvania, where there are rumors of some sort of real-life Dracula, and stop whatever nefarious plot is being hatched!

Ace Kilroy will feature adventure, horror, thrills, comedy, political intrigue, and even romance, in (hopefully) the most fun and engaging way possible!

I normally never use my other blogs to pimp my outside projects, but Ace Kilroy is special: I am enormously proud of what we've created so far, and we're going to give it ol' college try in terms of making it a financially viable, ongoing creative project: its nothing less than a daily comic strip, just like the classic adventure strips of old, except Ace Kilroy will appear on the web, not on the back page of a newspaper sandwiched between Ziggy and Mark Trail.

Ace Kilroy will run a black and white strip six days a week, with an extra-sized Color Supplement on Sundays, again like the classic strips of old. Dan and I want to bring back that sense of pure adventuresome fun with the strip, and transport the reader back to a time when the daily adventures of Steve Canyon, Secret Agent X-9, or Dick Tracy were can't-miss, waiting-with-bated-breath-for-the-next-installment affairs for comics fans.

But since the daily newspapers of old are, essentially, gone (the comics pages especially), we're doing it in a very modern way: on the web, with all past strips available with the click of a mouse, with Ace appearing across a wide variety of social media platforms, which will occasionally feature bonus or special side material. Dan and I essentially want to hire ourselves as the artist and writer (respectively) of an daily comic strip...which of course means you!

Not to sound like I'm taking my other blogs hostage or anything, but if we can get enough people to support Ace Kilroy financially, then I can spend more time at home, leaving me the time and ability to subsidize my other, non-profit-generating efforts, like this one. And isn't that what we all want?

So if you're interested in taking a look at Ace Kilroy, and maybe even supporting it, you can do so at the following places, starting off with the official site, where you can learn more about the characters, the creators, and see the first strip:

...and finally, if you like what you see enough to financially support Ace Kilroy, you can visit the Ace Kilroy Fundraising Page on Kickstarter, where you can learn more about the strip, find out what kind of donations you can make, and even watch a short video all about Ace Kilroy. We hope to raise enough money to give Ace (and us!) and a good running start!

Rod Serling

2011-10-26T00:03:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Netflix Watch Instantly, I've been catching up on all the episodes of The Twilight Zone I've never seen before, or haven't seen for a long time. I spent last Saturday working on an illustration project and I just played episode after episode of the show, all day.

This started out as just a portrait of Rod Serling, and then I started playing with it and added some show stills just to jazz it up a bit. Submitted for your approval!

Monster PSA: Jenny Agutter

2011-10-25T00:03:00.000-04:00

I'm not the only horror fan who completely fell in love with Jenny Agutter thanks to her performance in An American Werewolf in London; as Nurse Alex Price she was unbelievably sexy and sweet, as she takes in the troubled David Kessler (David Naughton).

Agutter has been in other genre films, like Logan's Run and Child's Play 2, but she cemented herself an enduring object of desire in AAWIL. And who among us wouldn't want to be told that she wants nothing more than to take you home and take care of you?

Universal Monsters: Werewolf of London

2011-10-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I thought I'd give the faux-vintage paperbacks the week off, and instead put up another installment of my "Universal Monsters" poster series!

I admit, I'm not that big a fan of Werewolf of London--I just find it too talky and dull--but nevertheless it is part of that great Universal series of monster movies from the 1930s. And of course it ended up leading (indirectly) to 1941's The Wolf Man, one of my all-time favorites!

Also, in some ways lead actor Henry Hull's make-up (by Jack Pierce, of course) as the werewolf is just as scary as Lon Chaney Jr.'s was, and it was that powerful image that made me want to add this film to my poster series!

Monster PSA: Donald Pleasence

2011-10-18T00:03:00.000-04:00

In many ways, this more of a de-motivational poster, since Donald Pleasence is trying to scare the bejeezus out of you--something he did quite, quite well!

Before I Sleep

2011-10-17T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover is actually only half that, in that its a cover for a real book!

Author Milton Babgy contacted me about doing a new cover for his mystery/thriller Before I Sleep. Having had some great experiences doing covers for self-publishing authors, I agreed to work with Milton and I'm glad I did. I genuinely enjoyed Before I Sleep and dealing with Milton was a pleasure--he was very receptive to my ideas and always good-natured.

This version of Before I Sleep is available for the Kindle, and will be available in other formats soon!

Monster PSA: General Ursus

2011-10-11T00:03:00.000-04:00

I know this isn't a motivational poster/public service announcement per se; I just love using the "naked, merciless force" tag--its one of my favorite lines, from any Apes movie.

You know, with Chris Christie not running in 2012, I think there's an opening for General Ursus...

Frankenstein Button!

2011-10-10T17:56:00.003-04:00

Just in time for Halloween comes this Frankenstein button, featuring my custom original Frankenstein movie poster on a 1.5 x 1.5" pinback.

Not only that--this button glows in the dark! Yep, take it into a dark room and you'll see the Monster light up!

If you were interested in purchasing a button, they're only $5 postpaid! Simply click the Paypal button below to order--and if you order anytime between now and October 27th, I will ship them in time for Halloween!

Yes, Mistress No, Mistress

2011-10-10T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover is just fun, fun, fun, mixed with pain, pain, pain!

In retrospect, I think maybe the tagline should have been "Powerful men paid dearly...to be treated like dirt!" Oh well...

Monster PSA: Darby Jones

2011-10-04T00:03:00.000-04:00

This Monster PSA poster is from one of my favorite horror movies, I Walked With A Zombie. Producer Val Lewton was not big on filling his movies with typical movie monsters (in stark contrast to Universal, who was almost desperate to come up with monsters they could spin off into series), so Darby Jones as the mute zombie Carrefour is about as close as Lewton got.

And even though Carrefour was a zombie and therefore didn't worry about his health, I'm betting Darby Jones the actor saw the value in a good, brisk walk.

Just Pull The Trigger

2011-10-03T00:03:00.000-04:00

All I saw for this faux-paperback book cover was day-glo colors and big flat shapes...and dammit, that's what I got!

This thing has a vague 70s sci-fi-ish feel to me, so maybe she's some of sort post-apocalyptic assassin. Yeah, that's it.

WTF with Marc Maron

2011-09-27T00:03:00.003-04:00

WTF with Marc Maron is one of my favorite podcasts, one of the handful I find essential enough to pay for--Maron interviews with people from the world of comedy, of all stripes, and he's an excellent interviewer. There's been numerous times when his guest I someone I never found funny, but made for a captivating interview subject.

Today is Maron's birthday, and he's very generous with praise towards people who have sent him artwork related to the show. The idea for this piece--Maron ranting on the mike while a word cloud surrounds him--popped into my head, so I set about to getting it down as perfectly realized as possible. It was fun coming up with all those words and cramming them into every conceivable nook and cranny.

I sent this to the show, I hope Marc likes it!

Update: By Popular Request, this poster is available as a 10x15" print on my Etsy store! You can order one right here: WTF with Marc Maron poster.

X Marks The Spot

2011-09-26T00:03:00.000-04:00

I was all over the place with this faux-paperback book cover, and I think it shows--there are so many conflicting design elements here that I just sort of chuckle at it.

The key art is kinda smutty, yet the tagline is very high-falutin', making the book sound like its about deep themes, when its really probably just a sex book. I guess I woulda been great at working at one of those 1950s "men's sweat" publication houses, sleeves rolled up, cigar in hand, grinding out material to be sold at bus stations all around this fine country.

Monster PSA: Conrad Veidt

2011-09-21T00:03:00.002-04:00

Every so often I get an idea for another Monster PSA poster, and they're so fun (and, admittedly, easy) to do that I never let the idea sit around in my head too long before getting it down.

My first color choice for this one was green, but then of course it made Veidt look just like The Joker, who was inspired by the Veidt film (The Man Who Laughs) in the first place! I didn't want to make that association (it's already pretty strong without me having to do anything), so I went with some cooler colors.

I tend to get ideas for PSAs in groups, so there'll probably be another one of these sooner than later!

Meet Your New Best Friend

2011-09-20T00:03:00.000-04:00

This was another one of those ideas I had that I just had to get down, if anything to get it out of my head so there's space for the next idea!

I am a passionate advocate for animals, and if I could imagine a perfect life for Darlin' Tracy and I it would be to have enough money--and land--to adopt every dog, cat, rabbit, or whatever that needed a home.

All these animal portraits are from pieces I had already done last year; it was just a matter of putting them all into this PSA-type poster and writing the very simple, very direct copy.

Who knows, maybe some animal shelter or charity will see this and want to use it? If so, it'll be more than worth the effort it took to put it together...

The Girl Who Couldn't Leave

2011-09-19T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover is a ghost story, pure and simple. I liked the moodiness of it, so I decided to skip the hyperbolic tag line, and just go with the title and author.

Blackhawk

2011-09-14T00:03:00.000-04:00

Last week, I was perusing the blog for All Things Fun, my LCS located in Berlin, NJ.

There was an article by my pal Glenn Walker about the old DC series Blackhawk (which is about to be part of the New 52 line of books), and I did a double-take when I saw this picture accompanied by the caption. That's because this is not a vintage 1952 lobby card for the Blackhawk movie serial, its a poster for the serial, created by me!

At first I thought Glenn was just goofing, but then I asked him about it and he told me they found my poster via a Google search on someone else's website. Assuming it was vintage, they used it in the post.

Glenn apologized for the mis-attribution, but I took it as a compliment, that anyone would mistake something I've done as having been done in the era I was trying to replicate!

Hawk-aaaaa!

Charles Schwab On Investing - Summer 2011

2011-09-13T00:03:00.001-04:00

This is the latest piece I've done for Charles Schwab On Investing magazine, their Summer 2011 issue.

Special Monster PSA Sale!

2011-09-12T18:13:00.007-04:00

We're having a Monster PSA Sale!

Each Monster PSA poster is now available as a 10x15" print on high-quality thick cardstock paper!

Each poster is $12 ppd, with three posters (or more) only $10 each ppd!

Simply click the Paypal button below, select how many posters you want, and LMK in your message which ones you'd like!

Tomb of the Unworthy

2011-09-12T00:03:00.000-04:00

Like Strip Til Dead, and Idol Hands, this cover isn't a faux-paperback book cover, its an actual book cover!

This is the second book cover I've done for author Jared Prophet, who is a prolific sci-fi author. Jared is full of ideas and very fun to work with, and you can purchase a Kindle edition of this book over on Amazon.

I normally don't get to do much sci-fi stuff, so these covers are a nice change of pace for me. I'm busy working on another cover for Jared as we speak!

Bought and Paid For

2011-09-05T00:03:00.000-04:00

As per last week, this faux-paperback book cover was sort of made to order: instead of a sexy babe, this cover features a big slab 'o beef for my female and gay fans.

The plot? Well, I think the tagline explains it: this guy is basically a rent-a-hunk for some aging, wealthy wife, and then one day she turns up dead! Did he do the deed? He says no, but how can he explain that she leaves him a bunch of money in her will? Cleft McBeefslab has to figure out who is trying to frame him!

I'd say the book is set somewhere hot and humid, like Miami maybe, so there's lots of scenes with the titular hunk taking off shirt.

You're welcome, Amy.

One Hit Too Many

2011-08-29T00:03:00.000-04:00

I realize this faux-paperback book cover looks a lot like my cover for Strip Til Dead, but I try not to let that stop me when working on these: I try to act as though this is the only cover I've ever worked on, and not worry about repeating elements. My theory is, if it works, it works. Hey, if Martin Scorsese can use the same Rolling Stones song in two movies...

This cover originally started out from a suggestion by my pal Amy Bias, who is effusive with her praise for my work, but asked if I was ever going to do a cover that featured some "eye candy" for the ladies--meaning maybe one week I could hold off using a sexy babe and substitute a big hunky guy for once?

That seemed like a perfectly reasonable suggestion, so I had a boxing-themed book in mind from the beginning. But after playing with it a for a while, this is what I ended up with. Sorry, Amy.

Little Girl Found

2011-08-22T00:03:00.000-04:00

I like the faux-paperback book cover for Little Girl Lost so much I wanted to do a sequel--the title a no-brainer.

I think if I decide to another "Little Girl" book, she needs a happy ending!

On Her Knees

2011-08-15T00:03:00.000-04:00

I might have to stop doing these faux-paperback book covers, because I think I will never come up with better, more salacious title/tagline combo, period.

Find This Woman!

2011-08-08T00:03:00.001-04:00

For this faux-paperback book cover I had the image, and that's what I built from--once I added in the checkerboard background, I realized the plot was a woman on the run, hiding from both the mob and the cops. After that, it just a matter of figuring out how and where to put the type!

Locked-Up Heart

2011-08-01T00:03:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, when working on one these faux-paperback book covers, I like to experiment and come up with something using the absolute least amount of detail possible: reducing everything down to just basic flat shapes, and see if anything can be made from them (other times, of course, I go crazy with the detail).

Unfortunately, any time you do that, people thinking you're ripping off Sin City, but what are you gonna do?

I Own This Town!

2011-07-25T00:03:00.003-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover started out as a sci-fi novel, with the damsel in distress about to be grabbed by a giant hand, undoubtedly that of some mad scientist who invented either an enlarging or shrinking ray.

I drew the hands, but no matter how I placed them it just didn't look right. After a little while I gave up on the idea entirely and changed this to a thriller, keeping the woman but adding a back story about a serial killer stalking the streets of Los Angeles.

As I finished it up, I realized I had some extra space, so I created a little logo for an imagined brand of mystery novels called "Crime Scene", complete with dead body outline. Fun!

The Man From Hell

2011-07-18T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover was meant to feel like the fumes of hell were jumping off the image, filling your nostrils with the smell of brimstone.

I wanted something super loose and scrappy, and while I think I didn't quite get it to where I wanted, in the end I came pretty close. That guy looks mean!

From The Vault: The Hi-Way Cafe - 2009

2011-07-15T00:03:00.000-04:00

I used to be part of an art blog called The Pop Project, where each month all the artists would submit pieces centered around a theme. One month it was "The Twilight Zone", so I chose to illustrate a shot from my all-time favorite TZ episode, "Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?"

Set entirely in a quiet, off-the-beaten-track greasy spoon, WTRMPSU? is about a bus full of passengers who get stranded there because of a massive snowstorm. Rumors fly that an alien has been seen nearby, and paranoia quickly takes root, with all the patrons suspecting its each other.

Its a creepy, funny, tense show, with a hell of an ending. I saw it for the first time when I was eighteen, and amazingly it still kinda creeped me out. I've watched it a few times since, and it still really works.

Anyway, I had a number of moments from the show to represent visually, but I liked this one, which is just before the big ending. There's no sound on the soundtrack; making this moment even more unnerving, since (if you've seen the show), you get a small sense that something is most definitely up.

Not too long after posting this piece on the blog, I was contacted by the granddaughter of actor John Hoyt, who starred in the episode and is represented above. She loved the piece, and that her Grandfather was remembered so many decades later. She asked for a copy of the piece, which I was only too happy to provide. Who would have guessed such a thing?

I like this piece overall; but I think my favorite part is the stuff seen through the window. It kinda looks like it would in real life: fuzzy and indistinct, but you can still sorta make out what's going on. I need to do more of that!

Tall Tales

2011-07-11T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover was entirely inspired by the model; I loved the idea this girl was so tall that she had to stoop over just to fit on the book cover!

Once I had that conceit, it was easy coming up with a tagline and title, which in this case leaned much more towards a girlie/"nudie" book rather than a murder mystery.

American Pit Bull

2011-07-05T00:03:00.001-04:00

I was pretty disgusted over the recent news that Nike signed Michael Vick to some endorsement deal, so that inspired me to do this pro-Pit-Bull, over-the-top patriotic portrait of the breed.

As a model, I used my favorite pit, the gorgeous Dolly Menck!

The Misadventures of Patriotic Patty

2011-07-04T00:03:00.000-04:00

"My first instinct is to say this is the last in the series ('Independence Day Irene' just doesn't have that alliterative snap),"--me, 2/14/11.

Well, here we are, and yes, this is the fourth cover in my "Misadventures" series of smutty faux-vintage paperback book covers. For the longest time (since Valentine Vickie, actually), I didn't even consider doing another in this series--the Fourth of July just seemed too "thin" a holiday premise to try this again. Then, for whatever reason, a week or so before today I decided there was no reason not to complete the cycle and whip this up.

I was initially correct--Independence Day Irene is very ungainly--but it didn't take long to come up with another appropriately alliterative title, and the word "fireworks" just screamed to be part of the tagline.

My instinct to say, once again, that there won't be any more of these, since there's really no big holiday between now and Halloween, which is how this whole thing got started. But who knows how I'll feel a couple of days before Labor Day?

From The Vault: Martin Short - 2006

2011-07-01T00:03:00.000-04:00

I used to have all the "Hot Seat" portraits I did up on my namtab.com site, but now that I trimmed that page down to a manageable size, I figured it would be fun to dig out some of the older and (IMO) better ones and put 'em up here!

This portrait of Martin Short--who was promoting a one-man show on Broadway at the time--was one of the first Hot Seats I did for Time Out New York after they had redesigned the page and changed the orientation of the portraits from vertical to horizontal.

Feeling creatively invigorated, I really tried to give these portraits my all, making them more complete illustrations all around--giving the magazine more bang for its buck, so to speak.

So I thought the name "Marty" all up in metaphorical lights was a really neat desig element. Plus, it tied in visually to the picture, and sort of commented on Martin Short's on screen/stage persona, which was kind of an attention hog, the kind of guy who chased after the spotlight. Nothing would make that Marty happier than seeing his name in giant, twenty foot glowing letters.

But...for whatever reason, the magazine had some weird rule about no text ever being in these portraits, so they asked me to take it out. I kinda thought that ripped the guts out of the piece, but by that point I knew not to argue. Even if I had, they would have gone ahead and taken it out themselves, so I said sure, got rid of it, and the resulting printed version was okay, but not as good as what I had.

Some days, the bear gets you.

A Death Wish In His Eyes

2011-06-27T00:03:00.000-04:00

For this faux-paperback book cover I wanted to get as far away from the aesthetic of the last three or four covers as possible: while they were all smooth and uber-clean, I wanted this one to be rough, rough, rough!

That's generally tough for me, because my eye keeps trying to clean and neaten: that just generally looks "right" to me. But I tried to ignore all that this week, and while the results aren't quite what I hoped for, this cover does have some of that roughness that I was aiming for.

Random Note: The title and (more loosely) the tagline come from the Jimmy Dale Gilmore song "Dallas", which I am familiar with when it was covered by the 10,000 Maniacs (and David Byrne) for their mid-90s MTV Unplugged set. Virtually every line in the song reads like something out of a pulp novel (go check them out yourself!), so they seemed perfect to re-purpose for this week's cover.

From The Vault: Super 16 - 2005

2011-06-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

This was one of two pieces I was contracted to do for some sort of insider movie magazine (meaning it was a trade publication, not sold to the public), for an article on different film stocks.

This was one of the most difficult, frustrating jobs I ever did: the client in question had little to no idea what they wanted, and even less money to spend. But I really wanted to get some work in entertainment-related magazines (still do), so I bit the bullet and tried my best.

When the client saw this, they told me in no uncertain terms with was not what they wanted. They still couldn't tell me what they did want; they just knew this wasn't it.

I ended up discarding this entire piece and starting over. Having no time left, I basically grabbed some stock photos of people using various cameras, added some color and effects, and threw it all together. I thought it was awful, and I knew this would be the only time I would work for this particular client.

They actually liked the second version better, much to my simultaneous horror and relief. I asked that the pieces go uncredited--the only time I've ever done that--and tried as best as I could to forget about the whole job, and what a missed opportunity it was for everyone involved.

Laying in Wait

2011-06-20T00:03:00.000-04:00

This is another faux-paperback book cover that started out as visual sequel to Little Girl Lost, and this time I was able to re-capture that general look and feel, with a couple of extra bells and whistles that LGL did not have.

The row of glowing lights gave this a Vegas-y feel, like the girl is sitting on a giant marquee, which was okay with me. The tagline could probably be better written (too many "they"s), but hey, there's always next week...

From The Vault: FMOFU Logos Pt.5 - 2010

2011-06-17T00:03:00.000-04:00

This was to be the final set of logo designs I worked up for Famous Monsters of Filmland: Underground magazine.

Most of the other logo treatments had been rejected, so I got rid of all the concepts I had been playing around with earlier, and tried to come up with some other looks. Of this group, I really loved the last one--it looked really cool to me, dark and claustrophobic.

The one that was ultimately chosen--#6--I thought was cool, too, with the little drawing of a skull I had lifted from a previous poster I had done. I've said it before, I never throw anything away!

The Sin Around The Corner

2011-06-13T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover started out as visual sequel to last week's Little Girl Lost: I wanted to replicate that cartoony, groovy look since I liked how it came out so much.

But, as usual, the process took over and I found myself here: a mostly collage piece with a piece of my illustration in the middle. I had originally drawn the brick wall in the same style, but I liked it better with the contrast, so I stuck with that.

This has a real 50s look that I really like, and I think the tagline is one of the most ridiculous (read: awesome) that I've ever come up with. So while it looks absolutely nothing like Little Girl Lost, I think it works on its own terms...

From The Vault: FMOFU Logos Pt.4 - 2010

2011-06-10T00:03:00.000-04:00

Yet another set of logo designs I worked up for Famous Monsters of Filmland: Underground magazine.

I really liked the first two--I re-introduced the "paste-up" motif (hoping maybe, by sheer repetition, I could convince the editors to go with it), and I liked the second's red-with-dark bits look.

The third one is way too conventional "monster"-y, I think I probably felt the need to fill the space so I just whipped up one more logo variation...

Monster PSA: George Zucco

2011-06-07T00:03:00.000-04:00

I haven't done a Monster PSA in a while; simply because I haven't had a really great idea for one.

But I was looking through a book about the Universal Monsters and saw this pic of character actor George Zucco, and I remembered he was one of the few "horror regulars" from that era that I haven't yet immortalized, so I set about coming up with a tag line.

Zucco was the rare actor who could toggle between A, B, and Z-level movies; he appeared in the Monogram cheapie Voodoo Man the same year he was in The Seventh Cross with Spencer Tracy.

He managed that balancing act through (most) of his career, so my first thought was the old chestnut "putting all your eggs in one basket" but that phrase is pretty antiquated; so I decided to go with a modern modern version.

Little Girl Lost

2011-06-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover originally had a lot more detail in it--both the girl and the arm holding the gun were more fully illustrated.

But as I worked on this, I realized I liked it better with these stark, black-and-white (and red) shapes. When I added the somewhat funky font and background elements, I realized stark was the way to go!

From The Vault: FMOFU Logos Pt.3 - 2010

2011-06-03T00:03:00.000-04:00

Yet another set of logo designs I worked up for Famous Monsters of Filmland: Underground magazine.

That first one is really a toss-off, and never under serious consideration. I liked the second one because of the addition of the blood spatter, a little design element I would incorporate into other FMOFU logo variations.

"Mera"

2011-05-31T00:03:00.000-04:00

This portrait of Aquaman's queen, Mera, is just me goofing around, really. I wanted to try the water effect--since that is her natural habitat--and I thought it came our pretty well.

I was tempted to add some design element to this, like I did for the other Mera portrait I did, but then realized I should leave well enough alone!

Idol Hands

2011-05-30T00:03:00.000-04:00

Like Strip Til Dead, this cover isn't a faux-paperback book cover, its an actual book cover!

Not too long after I posted STD, I was contacted by author Jared Prophet to do a cover for his sci-fi novel Idol Hands. Since I had such a good experience working for a self-published author before, I thought why not try again? Maybe I can corner the market...

Jared gave me an idea of what he wanted for a cover, and even provided some photo ref of the space explorer babe in question. Other than that, Jared left it up to me to come up with the rest.

Like Strip Til Dead, Idol Hands was a lot of fun to work on. I don't get the chance to do much sci-fi, so I wanted to come up with a look that was similarly old school pulpy, but also recognizably sci-fi.

Jared liked what I did, asking for only a few small tweaks, which ended up making the final piece even better. It now adorns the book, which is for sale at Amazon.

I'm now working on a second cover for Jared (he is nothing if not prolific), and I hope it comes out just as well as this one!

From The Vault: FMOFU Logos Pt.2 - 2010

2011-05-27T00:03:00.000-04:00

This was another set of logo designs I worked up for Famous Monsters of Filmland: Underground magazine.

I really loved this font, and desperately wanted to use it for the logo. In many ways, I think the second one, with the FMOF "paste-up" over Underground, was my favorite of all the logos I put together: there was a simplicity to it that really worked for me.

But, as any artist/graphic designer will tell you, your favorite idea is never the one that gets picked...

Dolly For President

2011-05-25T00:03:00.001-04:00

Last year, to celebrate the birthday of the wonderful pup Dolly (who belongs to my pals Laura and Ric Menck), I worked up a poster for as-yet-unrealized movie starring Dolly, all about her work as an ambassador for Animal Rights, a cause near and dear to my heart.

It was called Dolly Goes To Washington, and I envisioned it as one of those muckracking-type movies, filled with lots of Big Time Movie Star cameos, all of them interacting with Dolly as she heads to the nation's capital to deliver a message about the rights of all animals.

So this year, I decided a sequel was in order: after Dolly went to Washington, the groundswell of support was such that she decided to run for President. Hence, Dolly For President!

The two main actors playing Laura and Ric, Cate Blanchett and James Cromwell, are back, but with a whole new cast of actors who are known for their support of the cause: Pierce Brosnan, Edie Falco, Lea Michele, Alicia Silverstone, Charlize Theron, and Forest Whitaker. The script for this movie was so good it even managed to get the legendary Doris Day, an impassioned animal advocate, out of retirement to play a sympathetic senator.

I had a hell of a time coming up with a design, and I had to let it simmer in my head for several days. Then I cracked it: I mimicked the design of, all of things, the poster to The Great Escape, with its comic book panel-esque structure explaining the movie's plot. That allowed me to have some fellow dogs (all pulled from my "Hello Doggie" series of real-life pups who needed homes) represented, an element I definitely wanted on there.

Happy Birthday Dolly!

Abbott & Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff

2011-05-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

Even though I generally consider this "Universal Monsters" poster series tapped out, every so often I get a hankering to work up another one, and I get really energized to do it if I can find a way to jazz it up a little.

Aside from being a big Abbott & Costello fan, I've always had a soft spot for this particular A&C film, because the title is so weird and ungainly--after all, how many films have one of the actors from the cast listed in the title?

Since this series is monster-centric, focusing on Karloff rocking a very serious look only made sense. Bud & Lou probably deserve a little more poster real estate, but I thought giving them a doubled-inset headshot helped work towards that.

I don't think this one ranks as one of the best of the Universal Monster posters I've done, but it was a lot of fun to work on and I always like adding to the series...

Keep Moving or You're Dead

2011-05-23T00:03:00.001-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover took forever to get out of the starting gate--I had the figure and the title, but for whatever reason I just couldn't put together a design that worked at all. I got so frustrated and gave up on it, going off and doing some errands and working on other projects before trying again.

That must have done the trick, because after sitting down again I started adding those Russian "Constructivist"-esque bars of color and once I did that the whole thing fell into place: the plot, the tagline, the colors, etc. I even went and found a Russian-esque font just to make it a little more fun.

Fun Fact: The model you see here was the original illustration I created for the Strip Till Dead cover, but ended being discarded when author Mike Gerrard wanted to use the original model I dropped in for the STD cover rough. I never throw anything away.

From The Vault: FMOFU Logos - 2010

2011-05-20T00:03:00.000-04:00

Last month I posted the logo I created for the new Famous Monsters of Filmland: Underground magazine. It was a fun project, even though I ended up creating a ton of other logos that were ultimately rejected.

These are the first three I whipped up--and since there were so many different ways to go about this, I decided to just use one font for the first three tries and work up variations on that.

Since Underground was supposed to have a looser, scrappier feel than its legendary parent, my first concept was to use the classic FMOF logo and apply it like it was a taped-down piece of paper, giving the logo the look of a paste-up, a relic of graphic design from the pre-dekstop publishing days. And maybe the blood spatter was from an errant xacto blade used during the paste-up!

Capital G Web Illustrations

2011-05-17T00:03:00.000-04:00

Via the Concept Farm ad agency, last year I produced this series of illustrations for the banking firm Capital G to go on their new website.

I've done a number of illustrations for Cap G before, but they were strictly portraits; these images were a lot more complex, making them an enormous challenge, both artistically, technically, and mentally.

I say mentally because some of them, like the shot of the group sitting around a conference table, took a massive amount of concentration--just keeping all the details in mind was a lot of effort. But I had a huge feeling of pride when I completed them.

I've done a lot of work for Cap G, I hope I get to do more!

Find Becky Hanson

2011-05-16T00:03:00.000-04:00

As some of you know, my old and trusty Mac sort died on me last week, so I was playing catch-up all week after getting an all-new set-up. Luckily, I'm usually a week or two ahead on all my blogs, so even when I was sans computer I didn't miss any of my self-imposed deadlines.

Now that my schedule is (mostly) back to normal, I had time to whip up this new faux-paperback book cover, the first piece of artwork I've done on a new computer in over a decade. I'm excited about having a Mac more in tune with the 21st century, and I think this fun cover reflects that. Find Becky Hanson!

Susie's Wild Night

2011-05-09T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover really only works for me in terms of the title, in terms of font and design.

I couldn't really get the other elements to my satisfaction, but at a certain point I gave up, satisfied that I could re-use the title treatment for another project down the line. Its learning experiences like this one that I think help me get better as an artist.

Pine Magazine - Spring 2011

2011-05-03T00:03:00.000-04:00

This is the cover to the Spring 2011 issue of Pine, the alumni magazine for Northern Arizona University. I was asked to a modern version of the iconic (and much-parodied) Norman Rockwell painting Thanksgiving, but instead using some professors and students from the university involved in a specific school program.

I can say with little doubt that this was probably the single most complex illustration I've ever had to create--I had to use the same basic set-up as Rockwell, but had to illustrate six specific people, two generic "seat fillers", plus all the accoutrements--table, drinking glasses, plates, books, silverware, diplomas, laptops, chairs, wall, floor, curtains, wallpaper, and window. I created each piece separately and then put it all together like a big puzzle, moving each piece around so every element could be seen properly.

To make things even more fun, the company that produces Pine didn't have much in the way of reference photos of everyone in the poses you see above. So I had to use the faces from the photos they did have and graft them onto other bodies that fit in the various poses vaguely approximating the ones in Thanksgiving. Not easy, I must admit.

Luckily, I had a decent amount of time to work on this and get it right, and in the end I was really proud of the piece. It was run on the inside as well, with less typography on top of it:

I also created some spot illustrations featuring some of table elements separated out that were used through the text of the article:

While I'll admit this assignment was more of a technical challenge than a creative one, I am nevertheless very proud of the final result. I take great pride in being a professional commercial artist; more a craftsman than an artiste, per say, and being able to produce something this complex and specific on time was a huge undertaking. I'm thrilled it all came together and to finally see it in use!

Death Be A Lady Tonight

2011-05-02T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-paperback book cover came about in a very unusual--dress first!

My pal Laura Menck posted pics of a dress she found on Etsy on her Facebook page, the dress you see above--a vintage-y number with that cool Vegas Strip print on the blouse. As soon as I saw it, I realized it would make the perfect outfit for a character on one of my covers, so I went about "filling" the dress (there was no model wearing it in the Etsy pics) with a real, live femme fatale.

With that dress in place, the setting and the title all fell into place with little or no effort. I played with the colors a bit, but all in all this one came together it was like falling off a log. Personal note: of all the fake authors I've created for these things, "Morty Meyers" just might be my all-time favorite.

Special thanks to Darlin' Tracy for showing me the photos in the first place, this cover was a real team effort!

From The Vault: Disaster Preparedness Pt.2 - 2003

2011-04-29T00:03:00.000-04:00

These were the final six illustrations I did for a research paper about disaster preparedness in the case of a terrorist attack.

As you can see, the detail is minimal, but the bright colors and circular shape make the illustrations not all that bad to look at in the end.

Thankfully, none of this has come to pass--let's hope it stays that way.

Famous Monsters of Filmland: Underground

2011-04-28T00:03:00.001-04:00

The new magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland: Underground debuted this week, so I finally get to talk about the work I did for the mag, as both artist and writer!

My pal and then-editor of the mag April Snellings asked me to design a logo for FMOFU, which you see above. Here's what it looks like on the cover and on some trade ads that have been appearing in the last few months:

The little skull I used in place of the "o" was replaced on the final cover by a photograph, but the essential design is the same (my little skull drawing can be seen throughout the insides, as a button at the end of various articles).

I also have a full-page ad in the mag, which I designed just for the occasion:

I was very excited to work for my pal April (who I call "Chief") and of course its great to have some of my work on the cover of a magazine, especially as the logo: that means it will be seen on every issue. As a lifelong monster fan, I'm really tickled I got to do something involving the classic FMOF franchise (I created about two dozen logo treatments while working on this, so maybe some of those will show up on this blog's "From The Vault" Friday segment).

As I mentioned above, I did some writing for FMOFU too, so head on over to my Rob Kelly Writing blog to check that stuff out. It's a blog crossover!

Sacajawea

2011-04-27T00:03:00.001-04:00

This is a portrait of Sacajawea I was asked to do by Scholastic Books for a proposed series of children's biographies of famous people. They were looking for a cover artist for the series, so they hired a number of different artists to do a portrait of the same subject and would pick one to do the cover artist for the series.

Sadly, I didn't get the gig, which of course is a big disappointment. But overall I have no complaints--I've landed the majority of the jobs that I was in competition for, so I was bound to lose one eventually.

Both Scholastic and I were happy with the piece; maybe I'll get to do something for them in the future.

Hard-Boiled Horror Tales

2011-04-26T16:33:00.002-04:00

This is the cover to Hard-Boiled Horror Tales, a new comic written and drawn by one of my oldest friends, Doug Slack. Its currently available in print and online (ooh! technology!) over at DreadCentral.com.

I'm mentioning this here because Doug asked me to do the logo for the book, as well as the main story's pseudo-title card:

I love doing logo work, especially when its for something super-fun like Doug's nastily violent, gory, and profane comic. If those three things appeal to you, go check the book out over at DreadCentral or the Hard-Boiled Horror Blog!

Souls In Satan's Servitude

2011-04-25T00:03:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to branch out a bit genre-wise for these faux-paperback book covers, and this one is another example of that: instead of a crime noir or nudie book, Souls in Satan's Servitude is, as the tagline indicates, a "shocking expose" about people who have decided to join a cult that worships Satan.

The author is a doctor, of course--giving this lurid little tale of sex and blood an air of legitimacy.

From The Vault: Disaster Preparedness - 2003

2011-04-22T00:03:00.000-04:00

This was probably the weirdest assignment I've ever had--illustrating scenes from a research paper about disaster preparedness in case of a terrorist biological attack. Fun stuff!

I don't remember how the person who hired me to do these illustrations found me, but they told me they needed twelve scenes from the paper turned into graphics which would be interspersed throughout the text.

The paper involved some sort of high-tech "disaster suit" that people could activate in the case of an attack--a mini-alarm goes off, you take some pills, etc. I guess the final panel represents running like hell.

I didn't have a lot of time to do these, as the lack of detail shows. I ended up doing twelve total, we'll see the other half next week!

Killer Covers

2011-04-20T15:24:00.002-04:00

This is a banner I did for the blog Killer Covers, run by my friend J. Kingston Pierce, dedicated to classic paperback book covers.

J. asked me to design a banner for the site, using some real-life paperbacks as decoration. Not only did it sound like fun, but J.has been a big booster of my site, something I very much appreciate--in fact, it was his recommendation that led author Mike Gerrard to contact me about Strip Till Dead, and we know how that turned out!

J. also did an interview with me about my work and some of favorite paperback covers, which you can find at Killer Covers today.

Thanks to J. for all his efforts on my behalf, and for asking me to do the banner. I'm very happy with it, and I hope it adorns Killer Covers for a long time!

Laura & Dolly

2011-04-19T00:03:00.000-04:00

I did this portrait of my pal Laura and her beloved pup Dolly for Laura's birthday last week.

I knew I wanted to keep it really simple and graphic, but that doesn't work too well for dogs--at least, not in Dolly's case, so she ended up getting a lot more attention than the Laura half of the portrait did. And I'm pretty sure Laura's okay with that...

Hellcat With A Holster

2011-04-18T00:03:00.000-04:00

I first came up with the title for this faux-paperback book cover and sort of worked backward from there. Inspired by the new movie Hobo With A Shotgun, I thought why not a female version of that kind of story?

From The Vault: Coffee - 2003

2011-04-13T00:03:00.000-04:00

Back in 2003 I had hired an art agent, and for a while I sat down to a bunch of advertising art, in a conscious attempt to show potential clients my style would work in that arena.

Some pieces came pretty well, some merely okay--this is one of the latter. The typography is kinda cool, but the actual drawing of the coffee is kinda ehh: it doesn't look like liquid to me, it looks like mud or, worse, river sludge. Starbucks didn't end up with a bajillion locations by selling that!

The Razor's Edge

2011-04-12T00:03:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been almost a whole year since I designed a new Razor's Edge book cover!

As regular readers of this blog will know, W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge is my all-time favorite book (I even have a whole blog about it--of course I do), and every so often I find it a fun exercise to design my own cover for it.

I hadn't planned on doing another one (I did one in December '08 and May '09), but then I saw the above photo while Darlin' Tracy was surfing teh interwebs. The photo is by Edward Dullard and is a shot of Ballycotton Island Lighthouse in Ireland, and I was immediately struck, thunderbolt-like, that it would make the perfect main image for another edition of The Razor's Edge.

Graphic design-wise, I wanted the typography to be a little more modern and rough. Classic books when they are reissued tend to look a tad stuffy because they are classics, esteemed examples of literature with a capital L. So I wanted to go the other way, and make it look a little more current.

I added a half-tone effect over the photo to give a slight old-timey feel (in contrast with the type) and make the image feel more like a memory, which I thought was in keeping with events in the book--the entirety of The Razor's Edge is told via multiple flashbacks, primarily those featuring the main character, Larry Darrell. Larry's story is told to the book's narrator, so even within the flashback structure we are beholden to how Larry remembered the events he's recalling.

I just love doing these Razor's Edge covers, they're pure artistic fun. I'm sure this won't be my last...

A Ron Swanson Mystery

2011-04-11T00:03:00.000-04:00

I admit right up front, there were probably better ways for me to spend my time than coming up with a faux-paperback book cover starring a character from Parks and Recreation, but sometimes when I get an idea, I just can't let it go.

I was discussing with a friend on Facebook how much we like the show, and how that clearly Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman) is the breakout character: a die-hard Libertarian who nonetheless loves his government job--as long as he doesn't have to actually do anything. An avid hunter, craftsman, and jazz saxophonist, he never met a buffet he didn't like. But Swanson is also, at times, quite sensitive and perceptive about people's feelings, most especially his high-strung and overachieving deputy, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler).

My friend and I were joking that Ron Swanson, in another TV universe, could star in his own 1970's-style cop show, like The Rockford Files. So it didn't take long for me to imagine Ron starring in a series of mystery novels, of which this is the first(?) one!

From The Vault: Where Are You Tonight? - 2003

2011-04-08T00:03:00.000-04:00

An early, kinda lazy attempt at a paperback book cover. I like some of the elements here, but I didn't push this enough to turn it into something really worthwhile--I think it needed another pass on the figure, and not have it quite so distorted.

The type is handwritten, something I should try again sometime!

2011 YNPN Chicago Celebration

2011-04-06T12:04:00.004-04:00

Pictured above is Torey Malatia, a name well known to fans of NPR's This American Life. And the end of every episode, host Ira Glass credits Mr. Malatia for his management oversight of the show, followed by an out-of-context clip from that particular episode, usually designed to goof on Mr. Malatia in the most embarrassing manner possible.

Mr. Malatia was the guest of honor at the 2011 YNPN Chicago Celebration, and one of the people organizing the event contacted me, wondering if they could get a copy of my radio poster to give as a gift to him.

Being a fan of TAL, I was of course thrilled to help out, so I got a print made which YNPN had framed and gave to Torey at the ceremony. As you can see, he liked it!

Spider Lady

2011-04-04T00:03:00.000-04:00

This "Spider Lady" piece was the illustration I submitted for a contest, which I mentioned on the blog a few days ago. Apparently, most people who voted didn't like it too much, because it received so many "0" votes (out of 0-5) that it didn't make past the first round of cuts. Ouch!

While I don't think is the best piece I've ever done or anything, I didn't think it was that bad ("0", really?), so I figured why not repurpose it for a faux-paperback book cover?

I never throw anything away!

From The Vault: Aretha - 2003

2011-04-01T00:03:00.000-04:00

This was a conceptual piece that didn't quite work, but I still kinda liked it: I pictured the viewer standing on the other side of a recording booth, not hearing the tidal wave of sound being produced by Aretha Franklin's booming voice.

Of course, the whole port hole thing doesn't make a lot of sense, but I just kinda liked the way it looked.

"Spider Lady" Contest Entry!

2011-03-29T20:36:00.002-04:00

The t-shirt manufacturer Threadless.com has a contest going called "Noir", where the winning entry is awarded $2,500 in cash and prizes. Above is my entry Spider Lady, so please head on over to the site and vote for my piece!

Note: you do have to have an account to vote, but its very easy to sign up, quick and painless. I'm worth it, right?

The Girl With The Violet Eyes

2011-03-28T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-vintage paperback book cover started out as a simple tribute portrait to the late Elizabeth Taylor, but I thought it would be fun to turn it into one of those quickie bio books that paperback publishers frequently cranked out to take advantage of current events--the more salacious, the better.

Elizabeth Taylor starred in some of the most iconic films ever made, and won two Best Actress Oscars; but of course a paperback book publisher looking to make a quick buck would only focus on the divorces and the headlines. 16 pages of photos!

R.I.P., Elizabeth Taylor.

From The Vault: Anthony - 2003

2011-03-25T00:03:00.000-04:00

I was asked to do this portrait of then-one-year old Anthony Serano, by two of my oldest friends, Paul and Sharon Serano, whom I've known since high school. They were doing a big party for their son's first birthday, so they wanted a nice portrait for the invites.

When I look at this, I sorta cringe because I think I botched it--the face came out okay, but the tones for the wisps of hair are all wrong. They're way too dark and solid and to me it just looks odd.

But this remains, in a way, one of my most significant pieces because I went to the party, something I don't normally do (I don't have kids, so kids parties are kinda ehhhh for me). While there, a friend came up to me and handed me a piece of paper with a name and a phone number on it.

It belonged to her friend Tracy, whom this mutual friend thought I should call. I was a little taken aback, not expecting such a thing. But I went home and after a day or two I did call Tracy.

After talking on the phone and via email for about two months, we went on a first date. That was eight years and eleven days ago, and we've been together ever since. That makes this piece the most rewarding I've ever done, or ever will do.

San Diego Union-Tribune Night & Day Cover

2011-03-22T00:03:00.000-04:00

This is the cover to the March 17 edition of Night & Day, the free entertainment magazine that's part of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.

There's a new production of Cabaret starting up in San Diego, starring a local theater actress named Karson St. John playing what is usually a male role, that of the emcee. So I was asked to illustrate Ms. St. John in the traditional outfit of the character, using a monochromatic palate.

There wasn't much in the way of reference of Ms. St. John in costume, so I had to sort of splice different elements together and then add in the appropriate clothes. I came up with a couple of different poses, and the magazine settled on this one, with the Emcee looking directly at the viewer.

Once I had that established, putting together the final was relatively painless. It looks very smooth and very slick, and the art director made it even better by coming in closer and cropping the image a bit. All in all, I think it came out pretty well!

Tangled Vines

2011-03-21T00:03:00.000-04:00

This faux-vintage paperback book cover started out as a mystery, but as I kept adding elements I realized it looks more like a 70's self-help/therapy-centric novel, like Ordinary People or something.

What the hell--if I can do a zombie romance novel, I can do one of these!

From The Vault: Dorothy Lamour - 2002

2011-03-18T00:03:00.000-04:00

This is the last entry in the series of old Hollywood Glamour-type portraits I did back in 2002--Dorothy Lamour!

Ms. Lamour nowadays isn't one of the best known actresses from that era, but I loved her in all the Hope/Crosby Road movies; she seemed like such a good sport. She was mostly thought of her in her trademark sarong; here I glammed her up a bit.

I Married A Zombie

2011-03-14T00:03:00.001-04:00

Definitely a change of pace for my faux-vintage paperback book cover series--this time its not a thriller or a nudie book. No, this one is straight up horror!

Okay, maybe not straight up--the title doesn't exactly inspire chills. Laughs, maybe, but chills, no. This came to me out of the blue via the tag line--I got the idea of this publisher wanting to "one up" the Val Lewton classic I Walked With A Zombie, by having someone not just walk with the zombie, but marry it!

So this one was created sort of backwards--tag line first, then title, then image. I wanted it to look really cheap and ragged, hence the (almost) monochromatic color scheme and generally unfinished look.

I originally had the bride character on here, screaming her head off, but it just didn't fit with the rest of the cover--and I just loved my herky-jerky zombie so much that I let him decide the overall feel of the cover. Zombies tend to get their way.

From The Vault: Audrey Hepburn - 2002

2011-03-11T00:03:00.000-05:00

This was another entry in a series of old Hollywood Glamour-type portraits of leading ladies past and present--this time going with someone about as iconic as it gets, Audrey Hepburn.

Looking back at this one, I think I went a little too dark on the grey tone, which to my eyes doesn't match with Ms. Hepburn...but I wanted to keep the tones consistent piece to piece, so I was sort of stuck with it. All the white helps with the angelic look, something that matches quite well with Audrey Hepburn The Icon.

The Sunburnt Mistress

2011-03-07T00:03:00.000-05:00

This faux-vintage paperback book cover came together astonishingly quickly, even for me...once I decided to give the model a darker skin tone, a decidedly tan one, the title and "story" behind it popped into my head, and the colors were almost a no-brainer, as well.

The original title was The Sunburnt Fool, which was the name of a fake smut book Hawkeye once claimed to be reading in an episode of M*A*S*H. But something about the word "fool" didn't line up with confident woman pictured, so I changed it a bit...which then made the tag line very easy to come up with.

I find doing one of these covers every single week keeps my skills sharp, and some weeks its a really struggle to come up with something that works (or comes close). Other weeks its like falling off a log...this was one of those!

From The Vault: Charlize Theron - 2002

2011-03-04T00:03:00.000-05:00

This was another entry in a series of old Hollywood Glamour-type portraits of leading ladies past and present--this time going with someone current, Charlize Theron.

There were a couple in this series I thought didn't work at all, but this one's not too bad--I wanted Ms. Theron to look sexy (that's not difficult), but I didn't want the portrait to look too out of place with the old-timey style I was aiming for, nothing that would stick out alongside portraits of Crawford, Hepburn, etc.

ESPN Head Shots 2

2011-03-01T00:03:00.000-05:00

This was the second batch of head shots that ESPN magazine asked me to do for their "Scale of 1 to 10" feature--fortunately this group saw print, in the 2/21 edition.

Because these portraits are running so small (each is about about 1.5" high), I could leave some detail out, which not only helped make sure I could get them done on time, but gave them a slightly different look than a lot of my other portrait work.

These were fun to do, I hope I'll be hearing from ESPN again soon!

Banned in Boston

2011-02-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

This faux-vintage paperback book cover is just me purely goofing around...even though the font is really hard to read and I would probably never use it on a real job, once I tried it on the title I was determined to make it work. You can judge whether I pulled that off.

The "Boston" part of the title has no significance, I just liked the alliteration. Banned in Boise just doesn't have that same snap.